Red Cedar Men Expect the Lumber Industry to Bounce Back Up From'Hard Surface' of 1957

By Arrhur l. Ellswoilh, Secretory-Monoger, Western Red Cedor lumb-er Associotion

No great prophetic powers are required in predicting the future of the lumber industry for 1958.

Drop a ball on a hard surface and what happens? It 'bounces back up. That's exactly what should happen in the lumber industry next year. In 1957, lumber sales hit the "hard surface" that was created by a tightening of credit for home construction. Now that credit restrictions are being eased, residential construction should increase, remodeling, which should account for substantial volume, and the lumber industry will "bounce back up."

Many wood substitutes have been tried in home construction and some of them have been found to be of value. However, lumber continues to be the most important single item required in building a home, and is likely to remain so for manv vears to come.

As far is-1957 is concerned, Western Red Cedar weathered the year in better shape than most lumber species. The price structure of beveled cedar siding qnd T&G paneling was relatively stable, compared to other species. As a result, cedar maintained its position as one of the most profitable items a lumber dealer can carry.

The 1957 program of the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association, comprising the principal producers of 'beveled cedar siding and clear paneling, was divided equally between promotion and research. One of the association's promotion projects' was in the Mississippi Valley, _at St. Paul, Minnesota, where, "Opportunity Cedarhome" was constructed in cooperation with a magazine.

Plans for this home were commissioned by the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association, the only stipulation being that cedar be used effectively, both inside and out. The result was an attractive modern home, surfaced with beveled cedar siding on the exterior and with clear T&G paneling in the inteiior. Upon completion of construction, the home was thrown open to inspection, first by lumbermen, architects and builders, later by the general public. Reaction was enthusiastic, indicating that cedar may expect a greater share of the housing market in the important Twin Cities area.

We made the most of this promotion opportunity by using advertising space in the Minneapolis and St. Paul daily newspapers, inviting the public to see the home, and also by mailings to the area's architects and home-builders. Newspaper and television publicity was generous. Lumberyards of the area advertised "Opportunity Cedarhome" with display banners and gave away thousands of pieces of literature by means of counter displays. As a result, the home was visited by more than 15,000 persons.

The research program of our association is not confined to promotion, however, although we recognize promotion as of prime importance. Faced with the challenge of competitive materials, the lumber industry must provide factual information spelling out the advantages of its products, and such information can be provided only by

Asfull ex- ample, the association concluded that research was required to clear up a great deal of conflicting information on nails and nailing techniques for wood siding that affect both cost and quality of the finished job.

Field inspection revealed that incorrect nailing is one of the major causes of siding application failures, resulting in later complaints of poor appearance by home buyers. Information gath€red in this research program will be used in a program of builder education. Another facet of the research program is to establish the adequacy of two coats of paint as a means of reducing applied costs. Research established that the third coat of paint increases the cost per square foot of wall area about 4c or approximately $52 on an average house. A research team of the association now is comparing the initial appearance and time between repainting of two coats versus three. Conclusions are expected shortly.

One of the association's big research projects is in the area of paint performance: \Mestern Red Cedar is the most paintable of all wood species, by government test, but premature paint failures has been encountered in some areas. Two vears of activitv bv a research team of the Western Red Cedar Lumbei ASsociation have yielded a lot of basic knowledge on the causes for unusual performance of paint, and particularly the most serious pro'blem of premature failure.

The mechanics of blistering, chalking, mildew and fume discolorations are known. We know, for example, that the paint film is detached because of poor adhesion when water pressure builds up behind the film. We know the principal sources of this water. We know how house construction practices influence paint performance. We even have dug into paint chemistry to learn what effect paint formation has on premature paint failure.

The history of development of improved paints, designed to eliminate the problem of paint blistering, has been closely followed. As a result of two comprehensive surveys, we know that paints of blister-resistant formulations based on superior adhesion instead of moisture permeability are commercially available. These paints now are being tested and we expect to have results 6f these tests in eaily 1958, for passing along to the industry.

These are examples of the type of work our association is doing, both in research and promotion. We are confident that the new year will see not only an expansion of our program but an expansion in the lumber industry to the common benefit of both the producer and the retail yard.